slavery

Game of Thrones Text Review

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HBO’s Game of Thrones was a widely popular TV show that aired on the network from April 2011 through May 2019. It consists of many powerful houses who are in competition to rule the seven kingdoms. When the legitimacy of the current king’s claim to the throne is called into question other rulers begin to claim that they are the rightful ruler and plan to seize the throne.

Daenerys (Dany) is a Targaryen who believes she is the rightful queen of the seven kingdoms. She is disgusted by slavery and her goal is to set all of the slaves free and kill all of their masters. In her eyes, she is bringing justice to the world. However, the slaves are viewed as property by their masters and after years of slavery they have begun to see themselves as such. They do not have any belongings to their name or any purpose in life other than serving their masters. Thus, when they are set free, they have nowhere to go. Dany always gives those she conquers the choice of if they want to follow her or not, but they have nowhere to go if they decide not to follow her.

Dany realizes that having a large army and conquering a group of people is a lot easier than ruling over them. Ruling requires a consistent effort and compromises. She was able to look at the masters, see the evil in the way they treated their slaves, and conquer to set the slaves free. But then the slaves were left with nothing and had no purpose in life. Their entire economic system was lost and while masters did not have direct control and authority over their slaves, they still had power in other means such as economically and socially.

Martin Luther King Jr. was witnessing similar experiences. The slaves had been set free by the U.S. government in 1865 with the addition of the 13th amendment, but racism and inequalities were still largely present in the 1900s. Former slaves were not yet equal to their previous masters. There were still large injustices that Dr. King fought with nonviolent methods such as the Montgomery bus boycott. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King explains his rationale for his actions and explains the injustices that were present.

In both situations the subaltern is set free but does not have an equal voice to the former ruling group. Slave masters were very profitable in both America and the cities in Game of Thrones for years. When their slaves are lost, they are still left with wealth and power while the slaves are left with nothing and must start a completely new life with no resources. The subaltern then must work increasingly harder than the Subject in order to achieve the same level of success.

The Critique of Colonialism

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As a reminder from week 2, colonialism is an example of domination where one nation or group exerts economic and political control over another nation. Colonialism has been a common practice that can be found in a multitude of examples throughout history. However, the terms “colonialism” and “imperialism” are often used interchangeably. The root of colonialism is “colony”, a Latin word meaning farmer. Therefore, colonialism is often linked to a transfer of people to a new territory. “Imperium” is another Latin word that means, “command” and may include the means at how a nation exerts control over another nation. The practice of colonialism is often critiqued, and this critique may occur due to the way that colonialism can easily shift into a practice of imperialism.

The colonizer often exerts their beliefs, morals, and values onto the colonized nation and its population. The Colonial powers often attempt to justify their actions and values based on a belief that these ideals should be used in order to provide better education and civilization to the colony. However, certain attitudes of cultural, religious, and racial ideals are viewed negatively.  For example, European colonialism in Africa can be argued to be have yielded very negative effects that are still seen in Africa today. The Europeans came to Africa in search of slaves that they could provide for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The domination that the Europeans exerted over the individuals in Africa could be equated to extreme violence.

However, in an attempt to justify their actions, Europeans sought to claim that these measures were necessary in order to bring order to higher civilization and education among society. One viewpoint indicates that, “colonialism is predicated quintessentially on race” (Ndobegang, 633). The idea that race is the apparent reason for one nation to exert control over another nation is why colonialism can be viewed so negatively. Equating race to status and role in society leaves a society to be solely based on discrimination, violence, and inequality. The Europeans came to Africa in search of finding slaves that they believed would bring a better quality of life to the populations that relied on slaves for labor. As they encroached on Africa’s territory, it brought along a justification for the violence and racial injustices that followed.

 

Works Cited:

S. D. Fomin & Michael M. Ndobegang(2006)African Slavery Artifacts and European Colonialism: The Cameroon Grassfields from 1600 to 1950, The European Legacy, 11:6, 633-646, https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/doi/full/10.1080/10848770600918224.

Kohn, Margaret, and Kavita Reddy. “Colonialism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 29 Aug. 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/.

Omolewa, Michael. “THE HISTORY OF COLONIALISM IN AFRICA–REVISITED.” The Journal of African American History, vol. 94, no. 2, 2009, p. 248+. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link-gale-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/apps/doc./A206692962/AONE?u=colu44332&sid=AONE&xid=b7560051.